In the past, detecting the presence of urine, for instance in a diaper or bedding, has been accomplished by physically touching the potentially wetted area. For convenience, speed, sanitation, and similar reasons, this method is less than ideal, particularly in a managed care environment. In such environments, urine detection is an ongoing process. Several patients may need to be repeatedly tested, which can be a time consuming, physically demanding, undesirable task. Often times, patients are in beds, covered with blankets, and testing for urine in such circumstances is difficult using conventional methods. Some detection methods utilize visual indicators, but these methods require removal of clothing and/or blankets, and cannot be discretely used by an adult wearing a diaper in public.
To maximize the utility of urine collection articles, such as diapers, such articles must be changed when they have collected the proper amount of urine. A person suffering from lack of bladder control may continuously leak urine, and the mere presence of urine in the article does not always necessitate a change. Changing a urine collection garment too soon can be wasteful because the maximum effectiveness of the garment is not utilized. Changing a garment too late may cause the wearer discomfort and/or irritation, and may also allow urine to spread outside of the garment. Therefore, to maximize the effectiveness of such garments, it is desirable to be able to determine the relative amount of urine that has been collected by such a garment so that the garment may be changed at the proper time. Industry experts estimate that absorbent articles are used to only about 30% of their capacity, which results in unnecessary expenditure by consumers and undesirable environment impact.
The distribution of urine within an absorbent article may be at least partially dependent on the pattern of use. With a diaper, for example, the body position of the person using the article (i.e. lying on back, lying on front, lying on left side, lying on right side, etc.) will influence the fluid distribution within the diaper. Gravity may cause retained fluid to collect at a portion of the article that is relatively low compared to other portions of the absorbent article. Because more fluid may be retained at the low side of the article, maximum capacity may be reached at that area or a leak may occur there before other areas of the article retain any fluid.